The best way to effectively <I>not</I> sleep, in my humble opinion, is to watch ballet immediately before. It's late here and I have to wake up at 5 am tomorrow - wait, today! - but I decided to watch exactly half of my new video, The Magic of the Bolshoi, then go to bed. Where's the harm right? Guess what, I ended up watching the whole thing, now I'm wide awake with Vladimir Vasiliev and Ekaterina Maximova doing Don Q inside my head. Sigh. <P>Before they stopped showing ballet at all, the local arts channel used to have their dance programs late-ish, and I'd end up having instant replay the whole night through. The worst was when they showed David Parsons' 'Caught' and I had a thrilling dream of endlessly leaping dancers through spotlights, never coming to rest. Counting sheep has nothing on this. <P>It wouldn't be so bad if I could actually remember the steps and sequences, but I can't. I just get multiple flashbacks of moments that didn't even seem particularly poignant at the time. <P>Anyone else gets this?

Shazna ....I find that when I come back from the theater after watching a performance, it is very hard to get to sleep.<P>But, even worse was when I would come home from a full day of classes, rehearsals and then teaching until about 10 p.m. and just fall into bed....that was it....just falling....but not falling asleep. My body was too tired and too keyed up. Now that I am retired I NEVER take an evening ballet class.

Hey, the last two nights I had ballet insomnia too! But it was because of our recital. I would stay awake running through everybody's dances in my head, and thinking: run this group there, make sure these people have costumes, go pick up these dancers over there... is that step going to work? Do we need to practice the bow?, blah blah blah blah blah... my mind won't shut up! But it is pretty pleasant thinking of ballet, even if one ought to be sleeping instead...

Katheryn - please be sure to tell us how this recital goes........<P>When I was teaching and it was recital time - I learned to put a pencil and paper on the table next to my bed...and I would write things in the dark (LOL) - so as not to wake the husband....the challenge was to be able to read the darn thing next morning.<P>But I seemed to get my best ideas in the shower, go figure...

Hmm... I had it explained to me once why we often get our best ideas in the shower. It was a very rational explanation, and now I can't remember. It might be something like you are just relaxing, minding your own business, alert but not stressing, allowing your unconscious to do it's thing... The shower is the place I go to now specifically when I'm fretting about making a decision or something. It's a very calming place, and I usually think very clearly there.

I have insomnia for a couple of weeks in January when I am starting to plan and choreograph for Recital. When all those creative ideas are flitting around like so many butterflies, it takes a while before I can net them all and get some kind of order going. Once I get through that, I can sleep again.<P>For me, the pen-and-paper-in-the-middle-of-the-night was for the "gotta remember" details. The shower was definitely for problem-solving and creative thinking. I plan my classes in the shower. It's a good thing we have a decent water heater... <P>Basheva, I teach until 9 pm on Mondays, and it takes me until midnight to unwind. It's not even worth trying to go to sleep until then. What a lovely thought that some day I may actually retire and opt out of late evening activities!

I sure sing better in the shower, Katheryn....<P>My ballet classes were so long ago I'd almost forgotten how hyped up I used to get after them till Basheva mentioned it. I would come home at 9 pm, without having eaten a thing since early afternoon, and I still wouldn't be hungry. Couldn't sleep for half the night, woke up at 6 am to get to school.

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